


When Doves Cry

by OhSchittWeWroteFanFic



Category: Schitt's Creek
Genre: Anchiladas, Anniversary, Doves, Family Dinners, Family Dynamics, Fluff, M/M, Marriage, Post-Canon, Prince music, Return Investment, Speeches, Surprises, Wedding Planning, Weddings, toasts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-03
Updated: 2019-11-07
Packaged: 2021-01-21 13:37:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,632
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21300332
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OhSchittWeWroteFanFic/pseuds/OhSchittWeWroteFanFic
Summary: When Patrick is MIA one morning a few days before their wedding and everyone seems to know why except him, David starts to fear the worst.
Relationships: Patrick Brewer/David Rose
Comments: 16
Kudos: 98





	1. Dig If You Will a Picture

**Author's Note:**

> This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are inspired from the show Schitt's Creek. There were multiple people's imaginations involved in the writing of this story. No actual doves were harmed in the making of this fic.

David couldn’t believe that Patrick was late for work the second time this week. Didn’t Patrick realize that just because David was in the store at 9:00 a.m. didn’t mean anything productive happened?  
  
Honestly, David could handle the store, but this morning had been particularly taxing and he could really use a bashful grin from his buttoned-down fiancé to turn his mood around. What could be keeping Patrick?  
  
David looked at his phone for a text and just at that moment he saw **...** indicating an incoming message from his man.  
  
** P: David - I’m so sorry I’m running late. I thought I could do some errands before the store opened but they are taking me longer than expected. I’ll be about another hour. Sorry . . . *blue heart emoji***  
  
Errands? David worried that he knew exactly what those were - and if he was right - he didn’t know what he would say when Patrick finally came in.  
  
David felt the anxiety seeping into his chest. Just as he could feel himself starting to spiral, he heard the door chime and looked up to see Stevie entering Rose Apothecary.  
  
“What are you doing here?” he asked, his voice coming off much more shrill than he intended, giving away more than he wanted her to know about his current emotional state.  
  
Stevie cocked her head to one side and gave him a look. “I just came to say hi to my best friend. What’s going on with you, David?”  
  
“Well, as you can see my business partner is not present and this is the second time this week!” David spoke quickly between deep breaths, hands gesticulating wildly.  
  
“And this - this text - you know what this means, don’t you?” he said, pushing his phone so Stevie could read it.  
  
Stevie stared at his phone for . . . too long. “It means he is running errands?"  
  
David sighed and shook his head. “Stevie, when have you ever known Patrick to be late to work? I’m afraid he . . .” Just then, David’s phone buzzed with another incoming text.  
  
He glared at Stevie. "It obviously means he really does have big plans for our wedding reception on Saturday, and that it won't be just a little family dinner like he said.”  
  
David glanced down at his phone again. The text was from Patrick.  
  
**P: David, just how busy is the store this morning? I could use a little more time so will you be OK if I come in around lunch? I’ll bring you something good to eat to make it up to you.**  
  
“Seeeeee!” David said to Stevie. “He says he needs even more time. I need you to find out what he is planning for Saturday, and if necessary, I need you to help me stop him.”  
  
Stevie rolled her eyes. “David. I am sure whatever Patrick is planning . . . if he is in fact planning this morning . . . will be fine. Maybe even good. Maybe try to trust him a little.”  
  
Just then the door chimed, signaling someone else was entering the store.  
  
David turned to see Alexis had come in. He groaned to himself and grabbed his phone. If Stevie wouldn’t help him, he would just ask Patrick what was up. He headed for the back room. Alexis followed him.

“David, where’s Patrick? Mom has been trying to get ahold of him all morning.”  
  
“What?! Why?!,” David said, panic-stricken, his eyes widening in horror. If his mom was somehow involved in whatever Patrick was planning, he would be forced to call off the nuptials entirely. Or elope.  
  
Just then, David’s phone started ringing. He looked at the ID. It was Marcy Brewer.  
  
“Oh. My. GOD! Why is Patrick’s amazingly wonderful mother calling me . . . at this moment?!” David yelped. Stevie shrugged her shoulders unhelpfully.  
  
“Honestly, David, your relationship with your soon-to-be-mother-in-law is almost as bad as those incestuous Bloomfields. How should I know? Just answer it,” Alexis said.

David answered the phone, willing his voice to sound calm. “Hi Marcy! How are you today?” Marcy responded, with an undercurrent of concern in her voice. “Oh good, I’m good, David. Just looking for Patrick. Do you know where he is?”  
  
“Oh, he’s just off running a few errands.”  
  
“Of course,” she said. “Do you know if he had any luck finding enough doves?”  
  
“Enough?” he squeaked.  
  
“I called some of the places on his list and had one person call me back. I wanted to pass along our conversation, but I don’t want to bother you with this, dear. Can you have him call me please?” Marcy asked.  
  
David agreed and ended the call. He looked at his phone. Should he text Patrick? Call Patrick? Run and hide from the impending wedding debacle?  
  
“Steeeeevie,” he cried. “Get in here.”  
  
“What is it?” she asked as she returned to the back room.  
  
“It’s doves,” he said, panic touching his voice.  
  
A wicked smile broke across Stevie’s face. “Oh, this is going to be good,” she said. “Just a casual hundred dove release, no doubt,” she taunted him.  
  
“No . . . no . . . no no no no. Doves are INCORRECT.”  
  
David tried to keep his voice from shrieking but he couldn’t help it.

“Doves? Doves! DOVES!? What was Patrick thinking? Patrick knows how I feel about moths and butterflies. He should know doves are more or less the same thing . . . Doves are basically pigeons! Imagine a hundred of them flying over us at the wedding!”  
  
Stevie laughed. “Which is it, David? Moths or pigeons? Guess we’re all gonna find out on Saturdaaaay . . ."  
  
Alexis waved her hands, “Oh my God, David, do you always have to be so dramatic? Doves are romantic! Don’t you remember that time Harry Styles released doves to show me how happy he was that I flew out for his solo tour?”  
  
“Don’t YOU remember season 13 of Sunrise Bay? Mom had to wear long sleeves for months after the dove mishap. She twitched for days.”  
  
David rolled his eyes. He should have known not to expect much help from his two best women.  
  
“Get out” he said, shooing the ladies away. “I’m calling Patrick.”  
  
“So I’ll just tell Mom that you don’t know where your fiancé is then, David.” Alexis flipped her hair and grabbed a lip balm off the counter as she left, glaring over her shoulder as she closed the door.  
  
Stevie left, too. Finally, David was alone. He pressed Patrick’s name on his phone and listened to it ring. “David, hey,” Patrick said, sounding worried. “Is everything OK?”  
  
“Please, please, please, please, please. You have to cancel the doves. There is no way that having flapping rodents at our reception is going to end well.”  
  
“What?” Patrick asked. “I have no idea what you’re talking about, David.”  
  
“Doves, Patrick. I talked to your mom a few minutes ago and she asked if you’ve found the doves yet. You’ve ordered doves to be released at our wedding, haven’t you?”  
  
“Are you sure she said doves?”  
  
“Patrick. Doves are incorrect.”  
  
“David, take a breath. Do you need me to come back to the store now? You sound very stressed out. I’m going to grab a pizza in Elmdale and I’ll be there in 20 minutes.”  
  
“Meat lovers, please. And thank you, Patrick. It’s just all a bit much right now.”  
  
Patrick grinned to himself. He knew David was low-key panicking right now but he also knew his fiancé was distracted from the actual surprise he was trying to execute for him. “I’ll be there soon,” he said.  
  
He turned in the car and smiled at the woman sitting beside him in the passenger seat.  
  
David hadn't seen her in years.  
  
---


	2. An Ocean of Violets in Bloom

The diminutive woman smiled back at Patrick and said, “I missed him. He and Alexis both. It will be very nice to see them again after all these years.”  
  
David was restocking the bath salts when he heard the bell chime above the door. The smell of pizza wafted toward him as he turned to see Patrick standing in the doorway, pizza in hand and a woman standing behind him.  
  
Tears filled David’s eyes.  
  
She was older, of course, with grayer hair and a little stooped over, but David recognized the warmth in her brown eyes. Those eyes that had smiled at him and cried with him. He saw those eyes welling with tears mirroring his own.  
  
“Adelina,” David said softly on an exhale of breath. He tugged the woman toward him into a tight embrace and looked up at Patrick’s beaming face. He smiled and mouthed “thank you” to his fiancé. “For the record, this is much better than doves.”  
  
As Patrick stood watching them, he realized that Adelina is the one person in David’s life who taught him how to love. Patrick was so grateful to her for that.  
  
Patrick decided to give David a moment with Adelina. He took his phone out of his pocket as he walked away and dialed his mom. “Oh, hi, Mom. Did you find out about the doves?” He said it just loud enough for David to hear. David didn’t however see the smirk on Patrick’s face.  
  
“Oh, my David.” Adelina’s eyes were full of the familiar twinkle David remembered so well from his childhood. “You've grown up so handsome.” She pulled David down to her height with a tug to his Givenchy sweater—did she remember nothing?—and whispered conspiratorially in his ear. “This young man is very nice-looking, too. Such a gentleman. What’s he doing with you?”  
  
David laughed. As he composed himself, he insisted Adelina be a guest of honor at their wedding of course. Later, he hoped to get her home so they could catch up in private while imploring her to please make her specialty, enchiladas, for dinner.  
  
“Now, mijo, let’s get some of that pizza before you get all out of sorts. I’m sure that hasn’t changed about you, has it?” said Adelina.

Patrick just laughed and brought them to the back to eat while he watched the store. He texted Stevie as he leaned against the counter next to the cash.

  
**P: The eagle has landed.**

  
**S: Don't you mean dove?**  
  


**P: Thanks for your help today.******  
  


**S: You know I live to rile David up.******  
  


**S: I am ALWAYS here to help you with that.******  
  


**S: Also, I believe I was promised wine?**

  
Patrick put his phone back in the front pocket of his jeans and smiled to himself at a job well done. Hearing David talk in soft tones with the woman who had been like a second mother to him for so many years warmed his heart.  
  
Patrick heard their voices getting louder and looked up to see David leading Adelina by the hand onto the floor of Rose Apothecary. His eyes shone with love as he watched David point out and describe the products he had so carefully curated. Patrick’s heart continued to fill with pride. He loved their store almost as much as he did David. How they’d grown it together as if it were their own child. It was just one more thing that made him love David even more. He was so happy to see David being able to share it all with someone he loved so dearly.  
  
David filled up a basket of his most favorite products. “Adelina, you will love this. Leche de cuerpo . . .”  
  
Patrick couldn’t help himself. “Remind her not to drink it,” he teased with a wink.  
  
Adelina gently corrected David, “Ah, sí, I know, leche corporal.” She chuckled. “Reminds me of when you tried to eat the organic fig and almond hair mask.”  
  
"M’kay, it said ‘Organic’ and ‘100% Vegan’ on the label in very big lettering. The ‘hair mask’ part was practically in fine print. And it smelled delicious,” David huffed.  
  
Patrick’s grin threatened to split his face. “Wow! Here I was thinking I was marrying someone with at least a fiber of common sense. I’m so disappointed.”  
  
David once again took Adelina by the hand and led her across the store. He stopped in front of Patrick, who was standing behind the cash. David dipped his head and smiled crookedly, “This. This is . . .”  
  
“Patrick,” Patrick supplied, “Yes, David, we met when I picked her up at the train station. It is very nice to be formally introduced to you, Adelina.”  
  
Adelina patted David’s hand, “Oh mijo, he is so handsome. So much better than those boys and girls you used to hide in the pool house.” Patrick blushed as he winked at David, remembering what they had done last night.  
  
"David, you never told me you knew how to swim," Patrick deadpanned with a teasing tilt to his head.  
  
"Oh, I don't think they were swimming in there," Adelina replied with a wink.  
  
David glared at both of them. Did every person he loved have to gang up on him with so much delight and satisfaction? He thought he’d rather brave the doves.  
  
David huffed at them. Patrick laughed. Adelina joined in.  
  
"I can see why you like him," Adelina placed a hand on David's cheek and smiled affectionately.  
  
"He’s okay, I guess,” David shrugged. His lips betrayed his true feelings as they quirked into his signature grin.  
  
“Be still my heart,” Patrick replied. “I hope that’s going in your vows. The emotions. The sentiment. The sheer scope of my okay-ed-ness must be shouted from the rooftops.”  
  
Patrick took David’s hand and gave him a gentle kiss on the cheek, his lips lingering just at the edge of David’s mouth. That contact grounded David back in what was really important. He loved this man so much. He smiled at Patrick. Adelina smiled too. “Amor,” she said softly.  
  
David whispered to Patrick, “Thank you again for this.”  
  
The bell above the door chimed as Moira walked into the store. “David! Alexis has informed me that Patrick has vanished.” She stopped and did a double take. “Adelina, whatever are you doing here?”  
  
Patrick stepped to the side so that he was no longer obscured by David. He looked mildly confused by his soon-to-be mother-in-law’s query. She had played an integral role in tracking down Adelina.  
  
David noted the quizzical look on Patrick’s face and the way he folded his arms across his chest as he took in Moira’s words. Patrick’s movements were not lost on David; maybe his mother knew more than she was letting on.  
  
“Mom, Adelina just got here she’s. . .” David’s voice trailed off. What was she here for exactly? He had assumed to see him and attend his wedding. But what if his mother had other plans? Like asking her to actually work?  
  
“Mrs. Rose, so good to see you,” said Adelina, beaming at Moira. “Our David and his new man. So happy. So handsome.”  
  
“Whatever brings you here? Whatever it is, we are delighted to be graced by your presence in our little town. I know David and Alexis have been missing you dearly all these years,” Moira replied. “And yes, I am sure you will grow equally as fond of dear Patrick here, just as John and I have.”  
  
As if on cue, Alexis walked into Rose Apothecary, took one look at Adelina and burst into tears.


	3. They Feel the Heat Between Me and You

Just then Patrick’s phone rang. David eyed him suspiciously as Patrick answered, “Hi Mom,” and excused himself to the back room. David thought to himself,_ We are not done with that,_ before turning back to watch Alexis fold Adelina into a warm embrace.  
  
Moira came to stand next to David, her hand resting on her son’s arm. She watched Adelina gush over Alexis and felt an unfamiliar pang as she saw her daughter in the embrace of the other woman. She shook the thought off.  
  
“Mom, are you okay?” David asked, eyeing her carefully.  
  
“I am absolutely glee-ridden, David. Far too much time has elapsed since Adelina has graced us with her presence.”  
  
David nodded. “I just . . . didn’t want you to think we didn’t need you,” he said, his voice low. He realized what Adelina’s presence might signify to his mother. “You know . . . before. We always needed you.”  
  
“We must call John. Your father will be positively ecstatic see our bathykolpian Adelina, who nurtured us all.”  
  
As Alexis began to compose herself, unwrapping her arms from Adelina’s neck, but not wanting to let go of that familiar embrace, she looked around the room to take in everyone else’s expression as she began to shriek, “Mom! Da-vid! Why didn’t you tell me Adelina was coming?! I had to find out from Stevie!”  
  
“Well, don’t screech at me,” David retorted. “I didn’t know either. It was a surprise from Patrick.”  
  
“Arghh,” Alexis replied with her characteristic eloquence.  
  
“Alexis, you do sound a bit like a discombobulated parakeet,” Moira remarked. “I hope you will have recovered before this weekend’s festivities.”  
  
Moira continued: “Patrick was missing all morning as I was positively consumed by my own responsibilities. I simply lost track of the date between my own efforts at the town hall meeting, during which we wrangled over finalizing the delivery of Schitt’s Creek premier art installment, and the lack of assistance with which I found myself for all the last minute procurements I’ve been tasked with for the pending nuptials. I have been so positively bedraggled with my own distractions that I was absolutely unable to maintain the current date and that of her arrival. Alexis, please compose yourself so that we may move toward enjoying sweet Adelina’s presence during this joyous occasion.”  
  
“Nnnhgg, Mom!” insisted Alexis.  
  
Adelina quickly said, “Now listen, mijos, there is plenty of time for all of us to catch up. But first . . . Mrs. Rose . . . ” as she walked over to Moira with her arms wide open and a big smile.  
  
David took this opportunity to slip away from his mother and find Patrick in the back room. He stepped behind the curtain just as he heard Patrick saying, “I can’t wait to see you, Mom. Thanks for all your help with the surprise. Love you.”  
  
Patrick turned around with a little self-appreciating smile. Not one that said “I’m amazing,” but that said “I am so happy they are happy.” David got that little half-smile where the side of his mouth quirked up.

“You are simply the best. I can’t believe you did this. And then hid it with some nonsense about doves.”  
  
“What makes you think the doves are just some nonsense?” Patrick asked with a smirk, folding his arms across his chest.  
  
“You wouldn’t.” David insisted.  
  
“Oh, wouldn’t I?” And Patrick laughed, one eyebrow cocked in teasing delight.  
  
David moved closer, putting himself into Patrick’s space. He took Patrick’s wrists in his hands and slowly untangled Patrick’s arms, resettling them around his waist. David sighed. Patrick always felt so good pressed against him. David put his arms around Patrick’s neck and leaned in close.  
  
“Well, I still appreciate it very much, Mr. Brewer.” He pressed his lips lightly to Patrick’s. Then pulled back just enough to look Patrick in the eyes, David’s eyebrow quirking. “Who’s to say I don’t have a surprise or two of my own up my sleeve?”  
  
“David.”  
  
“Patrick.”  
  
“David?”  
  
“Patrick. No. Rodents.”  
  
Patrick didn’t answer. Instead, he gave David another kiss, deeper this time. A kiss holding the promise that in just a few more days they could call each other husband.  
  
“I get to marry you,” Patrick murmured against David’s lips. “Mmhmmm, Mr. Brewer,” David murmured back.  
  
Patrick pulled his head back just enough to squint his eyes at David, keeping their bodies pressed together. “So, surprises, huh?”  
  
“Okay, so maybe only one surprise. Fine, okay, maybe none at all. Or you know what, maybe a lot.” David wiggled his eyebrows. “Guess you’ll just have to live with the suspense, Mr. Brewer.”  
  
“I think I can handle that,” Patrick whispered, leaning in for one more lingering kiss.  
  
From the doorway Moira and Adelina were watching. Soft sweet smiles broke over both their faces. Moira whispered to Adelina, “Our boy has found his perfect beau.” Adelina’s smile grew bigger and she wiped away a tear. She whispered, almost to herself, “I can’t wait to see them get married.”  
  
“And I can’t wait for your enchiladas,” Alexis said, looping her arm around Adelina’s. “Could you make them? David untangled himself from Patrick’s arms and turned at the promise of Adelina’s cooking.  
  
“Yes, please! Schitt’s Creek is definitely not known for its authentic Mexican cuisine. That taco truck is a disaster.”  
  
“Much like your attempt at enchiladas,” Alexis goaded him.  
  
“You said they were creamy!”  
  
“Dad called them ‘not bad,’ David. That,” she said, flourishing her hands to punctuate the point, “is not good.”  
  
Adelina smiled at David and Alexis, still seeing in her mind’s eye the two beautiful children she had always loved so fiercely. “I have an idea,” she said to David. “I will make the enchiladas if you help me. It’s time you learned my secrets so you can make them for your new husband.”  
  
“I fully support this plan,” Patrick said as he joined them from the back room. “Why don’t you take Adelina to go get groceries while I look after the store?”  
  
“That would only be fair seeing as though you made me open the store alone for the second time this week.”  
  
Patrick grinned at David. The bell above the door chimed as Roland entered.

“Oh good, Dave, just the man I was looking for. I need you to take a look at my right foot. I think that last batch of foot cream isn’t working.”

David fought a dry retch as he ushered Adelina and his family towards the door. “Unfortunately, Roland, I’m just heading out.”  
  
As he walked away from Rose Apothecary, he chanced a look behind him and saw Patrick’s eyes widening in horror as Roland started untying his shoe.  
  
---


	4. How Can You Just Leave Me Standing

David and Adelina drove away from Rose Apothecary, headed to the grocery store. Adelina looked at the store as they drove and commented, “It’s a good store, David. It’s very warm and inviting.” David ducked his head a bit at the compliment.  
  
“Patrick and I work very hard to keep it on brand,” he said. Adelina turned to David.  
  
“Ah, Patrick. Tell me about your wonderful Patrick.”  
  
First, one side of David’s mouth curled up and then both sides did. He couldn’t wait to tell Adelina about Patrick. He told her how they met. How he thought him very snippy at first. How he knew now with certainty just how snippy Patrick actually was. Well, maybe not snippy, per se, but definitely he had sass and bite and the most wonderful warm brown eyes. David regaled Adelina with stories of their life and their love. And she smiled and nodded and was so happy.  
  
“Basically,” he said, “Patrick is the love of my life. He’s the kindest, most generous man. His fashion sense is, well, NOT good . . . .” David glanced over at Adelina who was trying not to smile. “And he loves spreadsheets. And planning things.”

David’s face scrunched up at the thought of such practical things. “But those helped make Rose Apothecary into what it is today. Besides those things, he is calm, oh so calm, which helps center me when I feel anxious. And he loves me. For who I am. For all I am. Even when I am being ridiculous and too much. We are partners in business and in life, and I can't imagine my life without him.”  
  
David took a breath. What else would Adelina want to hear? He couldn’t tell her how his pulse quickened when Patrick rolled up his shirt-sleeves or that his breath got faster whenever Patrick brushed past him in the store, letting a hand or finger graze over him. Or when . . . David could feel himself starting to blush.  
  
“We just complement each other is the thing, I think.”  
  
Done with the grocery shopping, David brought Adelina back to his and Patrick’s apartment. He offered his arm as support as they ascended the three flights of stairs. He was struck by how much time had passed for them both.  
  
“Okay, I’ve done so much talking! I want to hear all about you. How have you been? What have you been doing?” David said to Adelina.  
  
The moment Adelina stepped into the kitchen, it was like no time has passed. She once again became the teacher and caregiver, and David fell back into his role as the mesmerized student.  
  
Adelina took her time weaving in stories of her family the past several years since she’d left the Roses while, of course, folding in the cheese.  
  
Just as the enchiladas were almost complete, David heard the sound of a key in the lock. “Patrick’s home,” he said. He moved towards the door and greeted Patrick with “Welcome home, honey,” as Patrick entered the apartment. Patrick moved to give him a big hug, lingering for a moment to kiss David’s neck.  
  
“Mmmm . . . Smells good in here, and it’s not just you! Hi Adelina!”  
  
Adelina responded, “Hola mi nuevo amor!” She walked over to Patrick and grabbed his face with both hands. She looked Patrick right in the eyes and said, “Thank you for loving my David. It’s all I’ve ever hoped for and now I am so happy to see it with you two. Vamos, let’s eat.”  
  
“I just had a master class in making enchiladas,” David said. “You just wait until the next time and you’ll see what I can do!”  
  
“Hey, that’s great,” Patrick said enthusiastically and paused. “Pretty sure I already know what you can do though,” he said with a wink. David’s cheeks burst with color as he tried to hide his smile. Adelina finished serving up their dinner as she pretended she didn’t hear their exchange.  
  
“Also, Imma need you to disinfect your hands thoroughly before dinner. Roland’s feet are nasty.”

Patrick shook his head as if to rid himself of the memory.

“I didn't touch them,” he laughed, “but just to be clear, I can count on you for ‘in sickness and in health, for richer or poorer’ but not in regards to being forcibly shown Roland’s feet?”  
  
“That is correct. I draw the line at Roland's feet.”  
  
“Good to know,” Patrick said as he poured Adelina a glass of wine and brought it to the table.  
  
David fought hard to bite back the smile on his face when his attention was drawn by voices outside the door.  
  
“Hold on Alexis, you have to knock first,” he could hear his father say.  
  
“Dad! David said to just come in. It’s been years since I have had edible homemade food.”  
  
David opened the door as his father responded, “Oh Alexis, I’m sure Ted is a very capable chef.”  
  
As Alexis and Moira hugged and greeted Patrick and Adelina for the second time that day, Johnny took David by the elbow and led him to the kitchen. Johnny rocked back and forth from heel to toe.  
  
“David. I, uh, checked off that task you wanted me to do.” Johnny smacked his fist with his palm, “You know. That thing. For Patrick.”  
  
“Thanks, Dad.”  
  
“Mum’s the word.” Johnny tapped the side of his nose with this index finger conspiratorially. "I’m just glad I could help.”  
  
David led his father over to the table to join the rest of their family. The sight of them together like this, with everyone mostly behaving, brought such warmth to him. It still took him by surprise sometimes the depth of his feelings these days. You let one person in, it’s hard not to let others in as well. He smiled his lopsided smile as he sat down, shoving Alexis a little and telling her to “move, you’re in my space.”  
  
“Stop it, Da-vid,” she said as she shoved him back.  
  
“Niños!” Adelina scolded far too fondly to be serious. David met her gaze and smiled. He loved that Patrick brought her here. He couldn’t wait until tomorrow so could show Patrick just how much.


	5. This Is What It Sounds Like

The crowd quieted as Stevie stood up and tapped the side of her spoon against the (not nearly full enough) champagne flute. The quiet only lasted a second before others joined in on the tapping calling out “kiss, kiss, kiss.” Patrick was only too happy to oblige, pulling his husband’s face to his own with a strong sure hand on each of David’s cheeks. Somebody wolf-whistled. Another shouted, “get a room.”

As the men broke apart with delirious grins, Stevie started her speech. “Well, we all know why we’re here—to celebrate and look back on the love between David and Patrick on this their first wedding anniversary.”

“It’s hard to believe a whole year has passed since these lovable idiots tied the knot. And while I’m not one for sentimentality and all that mushy stuff . . .” Stevie stopped talking and made a ‘blecching’ face. “It has been wonderful to see them so happy and in love. Now, I wish I could remember the actual wedding reception. What the fuck did actually happen that night?”

Stevie was rescued by Alexis pulling the microphone from her hand. Alexis gave Stevie a once-over glance, “Well, we all know what happened to you.” Her eyes widened and her head wiggled with the emphasis on you, remembering how she had to hunt for Stevie and a groomsman before the toasts at the reception.

Stevie looked far too pleased with herself given the setting, a shit-eating grin decorating her face. She retook her seat and caught David’s eye briefly, the two sharing a smirk, before returning her attention to Alexis.

David laced his fingers with Patrick’s and braced himself for whatever fresh hell his sister was going to unleash. She gesticulated wildly as she recounted for their friends and family, first, his “dove freakout” at the store in the days leading up to the wedding and then about that time she walked in on him rehearsing a Mariah Carey lip-synch for Patrick’s birthday. “I mean, I could have done without seeing him suggestively licking honey off a teaspoon. Ew, David!”

Patrick turned crimson and David cringed, burying his face into his husband’s neck. “Make it stop,” he whispered against Patrick’s skin.

Patrick took a deep breath and stood up. “Thank you for the reminders, Alexis,” he said. “I happened to like the honey part, but I’m biased.” The crowd laughed affectionately, and even Alexis looked delighted.

Patrick continued, “I want to thank you all for being here. It’s been a whole year since David and I stood in front of you and made our wedding vows, and since I’m the business guy in the relationship, I’ll give you an update on your return on investment.” The crowd laughed again, and David flashed Patrick a glance that was pure love. Patrick returned it before speaking again.

“In the past year since you invested your time and love into our wedding, we’ve had 370 happy dinners together. You didn’t mishear that. David may insist that the five extra ones were just heavy snacks, but I know second entrées are meals. We’ve had 52 weeks of successful sales in our store, and thanks to my thoughtful husband, we now have one beautiful event space upstairs. One year ago, he took me up there and showed me the space that he had renovated, thanks to his dad, Roland and Ronnie, who managed to carry out the renovations when I wasn’t around. That’s David in a nutshell—thinking about what would make me happy and doing it. Please raise your glasses to David. My husband.”

To the sound of cheers and glasses clinking, David stood up to make a toast of his own. “Thank you, honey.” He winked at Patrick before continuing. “Patrick had warned me that marriage was not champagne and fine cheese every day, which I still think is a real shame. But as straight-laced as my husband may appear to be, he has made sure the first year of our marriage was always an adventure . . . and occasionally, mild torture for me.” David’s mouth contorts, trying to suppress a smile as memories of the past year flood in his mind.

“It all started with the dove scare at our wedding. I was told by some of those here tonight that doves are wonderfully romantic. They are not. Who wants fancy-looking pigeons at their wedding? It’s as insulting as counterfeit Prada.” David glanced at Stevie, whose face seemed to indicate he needed to move this speech along.

“Fortunately for me, Patrick knew this. The doves were just a Prince-themed distraction to have time to rehearse and set up for his wonderful performance of ‘Forever in My Life’ that you all got to enjoy at our wedding.”

“Or were they?” Patrick chimed in, standing up and wrapping an arm around David’s waist. He leaned in, placing a gentle kiss on David’s cheek. David spun around to face Patrick, with the most puzzled look on his face, his trademark brow cocked in a questioning arch.

Patrick flashed his David Smile at his husband. “I’m only joking,” he clarified, and watched as David’s creased forehead slowly ironed itself out. He still loved watching that confused look appear on David’s face, caused by the gentle teasing that always kept their relationship fresh. He still loved the warm, gooey feeling that overcame him every time David looked at him with that twisted smile and eyes that shone nothing but pure love.

Just as Patrick lifted up his glass to say a few words, he was interrupted mid-raise by the sound of his father clearing his throat. Everyone turned toward Clint who stood up with his own glass raised.

“We all know the story now about how Patrick distracted David with the threat of a hundred-dove release so he could bring Adelina to their wedding. I know Marcy got a real kick out of her small part in that ruse.” Clint smiled down at his wife affectionately while Marcy nodded with enthusiasm, a small chuckle escaping her lips. “But the fact is, all that dove shenanigans got me thinking about laughing doves and now it’s hard for me not to see a lot of my son’s relationship with David mirroring that of a dove’s.”

“In the few months before Patrick left home to head to Schitt’s Creek, I used to worry about him so much because he looked so sad. Patrick was never a sad child. So while it was hard for Marcy and me when he left, I hoped for so much more for him. I once read that a dove laughs to let its mate know where its home is. Seeing my Patrick laughing and smiling with David so often, I know he has found his place in the world with the person he was meant to be with.” Clint glanced around at all the eyes that were on him waiting to hear if there was more to Clint’s strange but sweet theorizing.

Reading the room, he continued, “I remember, about a month before the wedding, David insisted that Patrick come and spend some time with us. Patrick was due to visit for a whole week. They couldn’t shut down the store and there were wedding errands to be knocked off their very elaborate lists, so of course David stayed back and was to join us over the weekend.”

“Um. I’d like to remind you it was also for selfish reasons, so I could have the event space upstairs ready in time!” David interrupted from across the table. “Patrick was starting to get very nosy, and well, you all know he reads me like a book. So, I had to get rid of him!”

“And how well did that work for you, David?” Clint continued, teasing David in a manner that was obviously familiar. “Carrying on. We were, undoubtedly chuffed to have Patrick home for the week, and delighted to see him happy and filled with a lightness that was previously missing. Yet, Marcy insisted there was something, something she couldn’t quite put a finger on, that felt lacking in Patrick’s demeanor. Come Thursday evening, we were sitting down for dinner, when we heard a car drive up to our front porch. Without missing a beat, Patrick ran outside. He knew instinctively it was David. David missed our Patrick so much that he surprised us all and arrived early, even if that meant enduring two extra nights with his future in-laws, and leaving Alexis in charge of the store, and assembling a veto list for the wedding band.”

“I still regret that decision! I don’t understand how ‘Cotton Eye Joe’ made it onto the approved playlist while ‘The Best’ was blacklisted, no matter how often either of the grooms requested it.” David retorted and threw Alexis one of his trademark death glares.

“David.” Patrick responded with a hand on David’s shoulder, in an attempt to calm down his riled-up husband. “The store was fine, and you got to listen to our song after Alexis paid the band off to play it. So maybe let’s just allow my dad to continue?”

“Despite what either of them may offer up as an excuse,” Clint soldiered on, while ignoring the second interruption to his speech. “Don’t listen to them. That evening, Marcy and I watched from the front door, how they’d both lit up when they reunited after spending just four days apart. In the following days, David’s arrival filled our home with the sweet cadences of their combined laughter, and I finally saw what Marcy here was talking about.” Clint nodded knowingly at his wife.

“And that’s when it hit me. I understood what had been lacking. I watched my son radiate happiness like I’d never seen before. I was reminded of the doves again. Our Patrick and his David crave to return to each other’s orbits. And in the year following their wedding, I’ve come to realize that no matter where they are, as long as they’re together, they’ll always be home, and there’ll always be laughter.”

Clint concluded, “Happy Anniversary, boys! I wish you 50 more. Cheers!” He looked warmly over at David and Patrick, who were leaning on each other and wiping tears from the corner of their eyes.

Patrick cleared his throat before saying, “Thanks, Dad. David and I are so grateful for your words, and for everyone’s presence tonight. We’re so lucky to have you all in our life. But now, enough with speeches. Let’s turn up the music and have a good time!”

And so they did.

Ted took Alexis’s hand who in turn grabbed Twyla’s as they headed to the dance floor. Soon Johnny and Marcy joined their cluster, both dancing with abandon and an endearing goofiness that triggered that special brand of embarrassment that only a parent can perfectly elicit from their child. Alexis shook her head in bemusement and affection as her father pumped his arms skyward trying to raise a metaphorical roof. Stevie and her date swayed in each other’s arms, her head resting in the crook of his neck, while Moira and Clint circled the dance floor in a surprisingly able foxtrot chatting amiably as they moved. Ray was attempting a complicated pop and lock move while Roland squeezed Jocelyn’s ass in what David, had he seen it, would have declared as entirely incorrect for such a public forum.

In the center of it all were David and Patrick, the latter mid-spin returning to his husband’s embrace only to be immediately dipped. Patrick’s head fell back, his smile spreading into a grin which in turn became a laugh as he was righted to a standing position. David leaned in and whispered something into Patrick’s ear.

“Okay, honey. You’ve got me. Go ahead and release the doves.”

Pulling back, Patrick smirked at his husband and together they laughed.


End file.
